A gash was cut into Jin'emon Tsubaki's left shoulder by the wind thread, but no blood flowed from the wound.
The patterns on Jin'emon's Zanpakutō grew redder.
"Your spiritual pressure has gotten a bit stronger. Is this the ability of your Zanpakutō?" Kensei Muguruma frowned.
He sensed that Jin'emon's spiritual pressure had risen a notch. Jin'emon's was originally slightly weaker than his, but now it was almost on par.
"Yes. My Onikirimaru can increase my spiritual pressure by burning my blood. It's not enough yet, my speed is still not enough to catch the wind!" As Jin'emon spoke, his spiritual pressure rose another level.
"Your ability is a double-edged sword..." Kensei showed a surprised expression. He could sense that Jin'emon's current spiritual pressure had already surpassed his own.
However, Jin'emon's face had turned somewhat pale, a sign that he had already consumed a significant amount of blood.
"Let me see what you can do now!" Kensei swung his dagger, and two wind threads shot out from it.
Whoosh—
Jin'emon dodged the two threads. They whipped against the floor, instantly carving a deep, cross-shaped groove into the ground.
The boost in spiritual pressure had greatly increased Jin'emon's Shunpo speed, allowing him to just barely dodge the wind thread attacks.
Kensei's dagger released another wind thread, and the three threads attacked simultaneously.
Jin'emon dodged quickly, but was still unable to evade completely and was pierced through the right shoulder by one of the threads.
Pfft—
Still, no blood flowed from the wound on his right shoulder.
Not only that, but Jin'emon's spiritual pressure rose yet again.
He ignored the wound on his shoulder and prepared to continue his attack.
By now, his face was completely drained of color.
Jin'emon used Shunpo to appear several meters behind Kensei. He sheathed his sword, gathering his power.
The effect of Onikirimaru meant he couldn't fight a prolonged battle. This would be his final blow!
Katori Style: Shunpo Iai!
"A dagger doesn't mean I can't use sword techniques, Tsubaki!" Kensei grinned. At some point, his left hand had already been raised. His sleeve slid down, revealing his forearm.
Strapped to his left arm was a sheath, one that was only the size of a dagger.
This sheath was prepared specifically for Tachikaze's Shikai form!
Since Tachikaze turned into a dagger upon release, he had equipped himself with a dagger-sized sheath.
He quickly sheathed his weapon. While turning, he had already infused spiritual pressure into the sheath, using it as a container to compress his Spiritual Pressure. The moment the dagger was sheathed, the compression was almost instantly complete.
Being short has its advantages!
The speed of compressing spiritual pressure was more than ten times faster than with a standard-length sword.
The difficulty was also greatly reduced.
Kensei swiftly drew the dagger, unleashing a flash of blade light.
Katori Style: Ryūkō!
Jin'emon stared in astonishment at the blade light that reached him in an instant. But it was too late to stop his Shunpo and defend himself. His abdomen was pierced through in a flash.
The spectators whose eyes could keep up with Jin'emon's speed saw him seem to actively crash into that blade light.
After the light dissipated, Jin'emon Tsubaki collapsed to the ground.
"Kensei Muguruma is the winner!" After announcing the result, Sora came up to check on Jin'emon's injuries.
"Is Tsubaki okay? I didn't even aim for his vitals..." Kensei said, puzzled.
"The blood loss is more serious than the piercing wound on his abdomen... Tsubaki passed out from excessive blood loss," Sora frowned. He realized Jin'emon hadn't fainted because of the wound, but from losing too much blood.
Jin'emon had been holding on through sheer willpower. After using Shunpo Iai, he could no longer hold out.
Sora decided that he would need to test the effects of Jin'emon's Zanpakutō with him in the future. He couldn't let him use it recklessly, or it could lead to more severe consequences.
Thinking of Kensei's performance, Sora couldn't help but praise him. "Kensei, that was a very clever idea, thinking to make a small sheath and hide it on your arm."
"Hehe, it just came to me suddenly. I went to the blacksmith yesterday to have it custom-made," Kensei said, rubbing the back of his head. "I picked it up from the blacksmith this morning after eating the Golden Fried Rice the professor made. This was the first time I tried it. I'm glad it worked, otherwise I might have been the one who lost just now."
"With a shorter blade, the technique is much easier to execute. The time to compress spiritual pressure is shorter, but the power and range will be reduced accordingly. You need to test these things in detail to avoid mistakes in a real battle," Sora advised.
"Yes, sir! I'll study this move properly when I get back!"
Among Sora's disciples, only Kana Azashiro had previously learned the "Ryūkō" sword technique. Kensei had, in a way, found his own path to learning a short-bladed version of it.
In the guest stands—
Sōjun Kuchiki's defeat had been so explosive that the captains thought nothing could surprise them anymore.
Yet today, they had seen another student achieve Shikai.
"That makes six, right? To think that six students who have learned Shikai have gathered in one generation..." Kenpachi Kuruyashiki stroked his chin. "This Jin'emon Tsubaki, he'd be a great fit for the 11th Division!"
He had also heard Jin'emon asking Kensei to fight at full power, so he had a great appreciation for him.
"Jin'emon Tsubaki hasn't even graduated yet, and Captain Kuruyashiki is already trying to recruit him from the academy?" Ayane Kotetsu said with a smile.
"At his level, he could already graduate early. Not just him, but the other five who've learned Shikai could all graduate right now," Kenpachi Kuruyashiki said.
Ginrei Kuchiki said, "My son will be graduating next year."
Vice-Captain Ōmaeda of the 2nd Division said, "Nozomishin Ōmaeda is also graduating next year."
The current Vice-Captain Ōmaeda was due to retire in two years, just in time for Nozomishin to take over.
"We will ask for Professor Katori's opinion at that time. If his disciples also wish to graduate next year, we can select a mission to serve as their practical graduation exam," Ayane Kotetsu proposed.
...
Sora had two rewards waiting to be claimed on his panel:
[Guided Jin'emon Tsubaki to complete Shikai training. Reward settlement.]
[Reward received: 10,000 General Experience.]
[Reward received: Mod-Soul Manufacturing Formula.]
[Disciple Kensei Muguruma has learned the sword technique "Ryūkō".]
[Guided Kensei Muguruma to complete one sword technique training. Reward settlement.]
[Reward received: 5,000 General Experience.]
[Reward received: Sword Technique: Tsuifū (Chasing Wind) (Beginner level).]
He had now received the "Beginner level" of Tsuifū three times, raising its proficiency from Beginner to Proficient level.
"Mod-Soul Manufacturing Formula?" Sora was slightly taken aback when he saw the reward.
His current spiritual body was a product of a Mod-Soul combined with a fragment of the Soul King. Mod-Souls were indeed something he very much wanted to research, but unfortunately, he lacked the authority to access the sealed data on them.
But now he had obtained it from the system, saving him a lot of trouble.
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